They might have backed out of their end-run bid to become the biggest telecom in Canada, but don’t think for a minute that Telus has stopped throwing punches. Following hot on the heels of Bell’s announcement, the carrier that loves to use endearing exotic animals to sell us smartphones announced today the launch of the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition.

For those who didn’t know, the 8830 is RIM’s sleek EVDO/GSM monster that’s been kicking up a storm in the enterprise world (and allows long-suffering CDMA BlackBerry fanatics feel less depressed). Although there seems to be nothing new hardware-wise for the Telus version, we do have some interesting price info. Telus is matching Bell’s $300 on a three year term offer, but upping the ante somewhat by offering a staggering 50% off international data roaming charges for the length of your contract if you activate a BlackBerry 8830 before September 30. The gloves, I think, are officially off.

The site still says ‘coming soon’, but I’d expect you’d want to head here for more details.